Chapter 56: This Was Only Lust

Esme shifted away from Gabriel on the sofa, she parted her lips to speak, but her tongue was tied as panic began to spring to her mind. Like clouds clearing in the sky, she was becoming more aware of how quickly she may have messed up. How the hell did they end up like this?

She looked away from him, avoiding his eyes and hopped up next to the sofa, doing her jeans up in a rush. Raking her hand through her hair, she looked back at him, eying his stunning body feeling her mouth go dry again. But even with her need so openly revealed behind her dark eyes, the magic in the moment had evaporated. 

They both knew it. 

All that was left now was panic. So, Esme took a slow, steadying breath in and relaxed her stance, sitting back down and watching Gabriel remove his tattered shirt, his trousers already done up. He was watching her, concern edging its way onto his features, but whatever he found on her face, he closed himself off from her; his eyes became guarded, his face steely once more.

They were both adults, and there was obviously a hot attraction between them, but they couldn't go past that line between them. As she thought this, Gabriel's mood seemed to sour. "That shouldn't have happened," She whispered, looking away from him again, his eyes too intense for her to deal with. She didn't want something to grow between them, only for it to be an added scar on her heart. 

That's what this would be- another scar. Esme had been foolish to follow the steps in this seductive dance, letting him lead because it would inevitably end for them both. Now, she had to bow her head and make it known there could be no more between them. He was the Vampire King, and she was a rogue with a fucked up past. It was better for them, for him, to stay away from her. 

It was clear after last night that she would only cause more issues. Those rogues attacked Niko, gaining the vampire's attention and keeping it away from her own assault. Not that she would ever run to them for help, it was her problem to face. A heavy burden of another life she led before joining the White Sands pack. 

But they figured out how close she had become to Niko and possibly Gabriel, let alone the humans. She covered her face in her hands, her thoughts already one hundred times past the intimate moment they shared.

"It shouldn't, but it did," Gabriel spoke slowly before sighing and walking to the bar shirtless. Esme spread her fingers, her eyes following him, watching the muscles in his back contract from his elegant movements. 

As she watched him grabbing a crystalised decanter filled with dark brown liquid and two matching tumblers he poured into, Esme's panic dulled, and she felt comfortable again in Gabriel's presence. She didn't know what it was, why out of all the people she had met, the one being who should cause her panic and to be fearful of the most was the one warming her heart and relaxing her tensed muscles. 

Shit. This was only lust. It was only lust. Gabriel is like a Greek-God of seduction, and she, of course, the mere mortal (of some sorts), easily fell into his arms. 

Gabriel spun around, a low chuckle leaving his lips as he sauntered back to Esme, sipping on his drink. He lowered both tumblers onto the coffee table before swiftly retreating to the stage door and returning with a black shirt over his shoulders as he did the buttons up. Esme watched the movements of his fingers going up his body, slowing closing the shirt. Esme looked away after meeting his lust-filled eyes again, his lips slanting into a sexy smirk; her heart sped up, and she looked away, refraining from biting her lip. 

Lust. This was only lust.

She sighed and reached for her drink. "This won't happen again, Gabriel," She murmured quietly against the glass before taking a sip. 

"Okay," Gabriel replied, sitting down next to her, grabbing his own tumbler; he didn't sound convinced by what she said. Esme's brows drew together as she looked at his uncanny and knowing smile. She looked down in her glass, contemplating what to do next.

"Esme.." He started, the sound in his voice had become serious, and she closed her eyes. Gabriel calling her name seemed to call to another part of her that wanted to reach out and hold onto him for dear life. "Last night.." 

"I was at a witches house," She intervened before he could question her further.

"What!?" Gabriel slammed his tumbler onto the coffee table so hard she thought it might smash, but it seemed he knew how to control his strength. 

Esme eyed him warily, the shock and concern flashing on his face before he seemed to get a hold of himself. "I returned to my place, and I knew someone broke in; I followed their scents and came across three rogues, though I think there was another.. " Her mind flashed to the dark woods, the presence she felt near her. "Anyway.. Once I killed them, a witch turned up, and I ended up staying at their place."

Gabriel swigged the rest of his drink and poured some more in his glass. "You.." He sighed, "I didn't give you that apartment for no reason, Esme," He growled her name in frustration. "And those cursed witches," He spat.

"They were actually okay.. And I would have returned to the apartment, but I weren't sure if I would lead anyone there.." Esme began then trailed off, silencing herself from the look in Gabriel's eyes.

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"Witches cannot be trusted, Es." He downed the second glass of whiskey and poured another, his lips pulling back, revealing his fangs as his eyes glimmered. "I need blood."

"What do you know of the witches?" She asked, standing up and going to the mini-fridge behind the bar and returning with a wine glass and bag of blood. 

Gabriel didn't bother with the glass and grabbed the bag, unscrewing the top and almost inhaling the lot in one go before he threw the empty bag on the table. "Witches only look out for themselves, don't ever believe they are in it to help the universe, to reverse changes or to balance out the powers or whatever bullshit they told you."

Esme raised her eyebrows at his remark and by the aggressiveness in which he drank from the blood bag. "Did you have a run-in with witches at some point?" Esme asked quietly as she interlaced her fingers around the glass and rested it in her lap, looking down. 

Gabriel scoffed. "Much like the hunters, the original witches wanted to destroy me and my kind. We were never meant to roam the earth.." 

Esme's head turned in his direction, alarmed by what he said. "What.." If there were no vampires, then there would be no werewolves.

"Exactly. Not that it really matters now. There are too many of both our kinds and shifters for the witches to do anything now," Gabriel answered her unspoken thoughts.

She frowned; this was not the first time she thought he was answering her thoughts. 

"I can read minds," Gabriel suddenly said. Esme's eyes widened as she looked at him. "Well, yours are hard to read."

Niko said he had powers, but this was not what she was expecting.

Esme swallowed past a lump forming in her throat. "How.. What.." She didn't know what to ask; words were failing her. But it shouldn't have been such a huge shock, the vampire could speak to her like a mind-link, and a lot of moments since meeting him started to make sense. "You said my mind is hard to read.. So, you can't read mine?"

"Hmmm, I can read it but only sometimes," He sipped from his tumbler again then searched her eyes. "It is very curious." He chuckled at her gaping mouth. "Don't worry, I haven't seen anything I shouldn't."

Esme tensed, "Seen? How.. How does it work?" She stared back at him, the longest since their little moment earlier, and even though they did have some fun on the sofa, they were now once again speaking to each other like normal. That, at least, was something. 

"If I focus enough, I can read thoughts and look through their memories if unguarded. You already know I can speak to you through my mind," Gabriel replied, assessing her as he did so. 

Esme paled at his words. It was her worst nightmare, someone inside of her head reading her thoughts.

"Like I said, I am unable to read your mind, Es. And I cannot break your trust like that; it means far too much to me over something as simple as my power not working on you," Gabriel continued as he searched her eyes.

"But you still tried," She whispered weakly. 

Gabriel placed his tumbler on the table and slid across to her, caressing her cheek and tightening his hold on her face when she tried to look away. Esme stared back at him, almost calming at the feel of his thumb making small circles on her cheek. "I cannot help it sometimes, Es. It is a habit I was born with and one that has helped me more than once with the position I hold."

Esme nodded though she still didn't feel that great at the vampire possibly seeing a part of her dark world. But she understood him; if she had that sort of power, she would use it too. It was another way to survive, and when she met Gabriel's gaze again, she realised how much trust he had in her to tell her something so big. 

Esme bit her tongue. This was only lust, right?

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